


A New Beginning

by wordwarrior (regachoisiah)



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Hallucinations, Inhumans (Marvel), Mackelena family, Multi, TW: Violence, soft reboot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-04
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-10-04 03:32:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17296943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/regachoisiah/pseuds/wordwarrior
Summary: After defeating Graviton, the agents of SHIELD had initially set out to retrieve Leo Fitz, whose present day version is in cryosleep on Enoch's ship. It should've been a simple rescue mission. But, like any other SHIELD adventure, nothing is ever simple.(hypothetical season 6)





	1. Then

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our journey begins...

HEADLINES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

"AFTER MUCH DELIBERATION, THE CONTROVERSIAL ANTI-INHUMANS BILL PASSES IN CONGRESS"

"HARMON FURMINTZ, HEAD OF STARK INDUSTRIES' BIOCHEMICAL DIVISION, IS SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR HIS TIES TO ADVANCED IDEA MECHANICS"

"TERROR ATTACK BY MYSTERIOUS, UNKNOWN FIGURE LEAVES 12 DEAD, INCLUDING THE CEO OF FUJIKAWA INDUSTRIES" 

"WORLDWIDE ANTI-INHUMAN SENTIMENT ON THE RISE" 

"DEKE SHAW, VIRAL TRAVEL BLOGGER, REPORTED MISSING DURING LATEST TRIP TO VIETNAM" 

* * *

MACK

Year: 2014 (during the height of the HYDRA uprising)

Location: The Hub

 

The Hub's main alarms were ringing, enough to start a migraine in Mack's head. But at least having the migraine meant he was alive. After taking three solid gunshots into his bulletproof vest, Mack was worried that at least one of them punctured through and hit him in the chest. However, after a brief check, he knew he would be fine. Maybe a few broken ribs but nothing too serious.

Still, it was too close for comfort. As he tried to sit upright after being knocked down from the gunshots, he saw his attacker move over to a set of computer monitors and begin hacking in. Mack reached for his handgun, which had been knocked just a few feet away. As his fingers touched the gun, another shot rang out, hitting close to Mack's fingers. Mack retreated his hand immediately, not wanting to lose any fingers. 

"Don't, Mackenzie," the attacker said as she put her pistol away, "Trust me, I really don't want to."

Mack sighed, frustrated. Tensions were already high due to HYDRA. It made sense that she wasn't trusting anyone. But she knew him. Although they didn't see eye to eye from time to time, Mack fully trusted Carmilla Black. They were both SHIELD agents, they both saved each other in the past, and as far as Mack knew, they were both against HYDRA. In Mack's mind, if Carmilla was HYDRA, she had the potential to be the greatest double agent of all-time due to how willing she was to murder her fellow HYDRA agents.

Now, Mack wasn't sure who to trust. HYDRA or not, Carmilla was not pleased to see him. 

Carmilla Black typed away, going through files at record speed. Fast enough that Mack couldn't keep up. All Mack could do was focus on Carmilla and hope that he could read her expression. Something was off, he could tell. There was a certain urgency on Carmilla's face. Either she was in a rush...or she discovered something that shocked her to the core. Those were the two explanations that Mack could think of.  _Or maybe it could be a combination of both._

As Mack tried to stand up, clinging to his broken ribs as he did, Carmilla turned to him. She stopped typing, apparently having found what she was looking for. 

Silence. There was a still tension in the room as Carmilla fidgeted with her handgun and Mack struggled to balance himself. "What now?" Mack asked, trying to cut some of the tension. Carmilla shook her head, an unreadable expression on her face as she did. 

"This about HYDRA?" Mack asked.  _Damn it, did I just accuse her of being a HYDRA agent? Great, now she's really gonna shoot me._

Carmilla shook her head again.

"Do you think I'm HYDRA? That why you shot at me?"

Carmilla shook her head. This time, she said, "No. You don't look like the HYDRA type."

"Then why'd you shoot me?"

"You were wearing a vest."

"What if I wasn't?"

"You startled me. Didn't they teach you at the Academy to not charge into locked rooms?"

"It's still me. I thought we were friends."

Carmilla stared at Mack, her expression turning sad. She lifted up a flash drive for Mack to see. She didn't say but Mack knew that whatever Carmilla was doing with SHIELD's databases, it was on the drive. 

"We are friends, Mack," Carmilla said, "But SHIELD isn't. You know what I found out today?"

"What?"

"...why they call me the 'Scorpion'. I thought I could trust this organization. You were all like a...family to me. But it's clear to me now that we're not." Carmilla wiped a single tear from her face. Mack stifled a gasp.  _That is the first time I've ever seen Carmilla cry. What the hell did SHIELD do?_

As Mack approached her, Carmilla went into her pocket and pulled out a grenade. Mack nearly jumped back as Carmilla grabbed the pin. 

"Carmilla, wait!" Mack shouted, "Whatever you found out, we'll figure this out together! Just...just...don't do something stupid!"

"You're the only person I've ever trusted in SHIELD, Mackenzie."  _Swick!_ The sound of the pin being pulled was heard as Carmilla armed the grenade.

"Carmilla!"

"Before I go...think about this, Mackenzie. That new girl in Coulson's unit. Skye. The hotshot hacker from the Rising Tide. You think Coulson fed her the same lies that Robert Gonzales fed to me? SHIELD seems to enjoy luring in young, impressionable women looking for their place in the world."

Carmilla dropped the grenade. Mack cursed before making his way to an overturned desk. He ducked down, covering his head to avoid the blast.  _3...2...1...SSSSSSSSSSS._ Mack's eyes went wide when, instead of a massive blast, he heard the familiar sound of smoke being released.  _God damn smoke grenade._

Mack stood up, a little too quickly as his broken ribs brought him back down again. As the smoke began to clear, Mack could see that Carmilla was gone. Gone without a trace. 

_Damn it Carmilla...what did you find?_

* * *

FITZ

Year: ??? 

Location: Infirmary, The Hub (repurposed after the HYDRA uprising) 

 

_"I love you."_

_"And you mean nothing to me."_

"Wake up...it's time to wake up...just take your time...we're not going anywhere-"

"-DON'T!" The staff immediately backed away as Leo Fitz sprang awake. Nightmares were one thing but relieving the Framework felt like legitimate torture. As Fitz took in his surroundings, he immediately noticed something was off.  _This isn't Enoch's ship...this doesn't even feel like I'm in the future. Did something go wrong?"_

"Mr. Fitz," a nurse said, calmly approaching him. Fitz looked at her, cautious. He knew that she was probably just a simple nurse but Fitz didn't want to take any chances. "Just relax. We can explain-"

"-who are you people? Where's Enoch? Where am I? What time-no, I mean, what year? Where's Jemma?"

"Mr. Fitz, we need to explain something to-"

"ANSWER ME!"

The nurse backed away as Fitz heard footsteps coming from outside the room. He looked to the door of the room and took a big sigh of relief when he saw Enoch. Enoch nodded at Fitz before telling the staff to give Fitz space. All but one nurse left the room. The nurse who stayed kept her distance, letting Enoch approach Fitz.

Fitz looked at Enoch, completely lost.  _Did our mission fail? Were we captured? What the bloody hell happened?_

"This...this doesn't feel like the far future," Fitz said.

"How do you know that? We could be in some city on the moon...which, by the way, does exist."

"I don't know how I know, just a gut feeling. I don't think you would have turned me over to a hospital if everything went accordingly to plan. So, I'm assuming something went wrong. If nothing is wrong, please tell me now before I have another nightmare about me shooting Jemma in the leg."

Enoch just looked at Fitz. From what Fitz could tell, Enoch wanted to say something. But it didn't look like he knew how to express what he was thinking of.  _Was anyone hurt? Oh god...please let Jemma be safe. Come on, not this again-_

"Things...didn't necessarily go wrong," Enoch said, "You were still in cryosleep and had I not been contacted by SHIELD, you would've woken up in 2091, according to our plan."

 _What? SHIELD?_ "Hang on, SHIELD contacted us? But...we were trying to-"

"-get to them, I know. That's the beauty of time travel. You change something in the past and the events that come after are the time traveler's 'future'. But then there's the rest of us, like you and me, who have to continue to live out our predetermined path. To the time traveler, we already went to the future. But from our perspective...we haven't gotten there yet."

"So what you're saying is...we succeeded? We-I mean, future us, made it back to the past?" 

"Yes."

Fitz sighed in relief. They did it. They actually did it. They saved the team and made it back to present day. Although, as Fitz thought about it some more, he began to realize all the loose ends that resulted because of their travels.  _If I went back to the past...that means there should be two mes at the same time, right? Also, by waking me up, does that mean my actions in the future will get erased? Maybe I shouldn't be awake-_

"Fitz, there are several things you should know. I need you to fully understand your situation before we do anything else."

Fitz looked at Enoch, back to being concerned. "What?"

"There are a lot of things you need to know. I had to do some research before waking you up. Trust me when I say, you'll need a couple of days to process everything that I will tell you."

 _Uh oh, that doesn't sound promising._ "Just go, let me hear it."

"First off...SHIELD did succeed in changing the future. It was Glenn Talbot. He turned himself into a figure known as Graviton and almost destroyed the Earth. But Daisy Johnson stopped him just in time."

_Atta girl. Good work, Daisy._

"That's...good to know," Fitz said.

"I'm not finished. In the fight with Graviton, you, as in the original timeline version of you, was killed. The whole world thinks you're dead right now."

 _Killed._ No response. Fitz didn't even know what to think of those words. He felt like vomiting, he just wanted to go back to sleep. 

"And that's not all. If you need to drink after hearing this, go right ahead. Now, all of this information has been well-documented. And the reason why that is...it's because there was time to document the events with Graviton. More than enough time, actually."

"...how long has it been since I went to sleep?"

"It's been ten years, Fitz. Welcome to 2028." 


	2. Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The year is 2028, ten years after Graviton's defeat. A new status quo is set as we check in on Elena and May. Fitz also learns about the status of the new S.H.I.E.L.D.

ELENA

Location: Jefferson, a town in Indiana. Baxter Middle School.  

Time: Afternoon 

 

The school bell rang and as if on cue, dozens of middle schoolers began walking out. In the parking lot, Elena Rodriguez was parked, watching the students walk by. It wasn't an unusual sight. She'd done this dozens of times before, to the point where she started noticing patterns. There was the kid with the orange backpack who seemed to always trip on his way out and the girl with the pigtails who always bought a snow cone on her way out. There was nothing wrong with this but it did get pretty dull from time to time. Years ago, she was flying around in spaceships and quinjets. Nowadays, her trusted vehicle was the SUV, which the kids said made her an unofficial "soccer mom". Whatever the hell that meant. 

 _Soccer "mom"._ That sounded good. It technically wasn't true since her daughter, Silver, was adopted but nonetheless, it felt good to be called "mom". 2028 marks five years after she and Mack had taken in Silver Myers from the Saint Agnes Orphanage, based on a recommendation from Daisy. Two years prior, she and Mack had gotten married and with that came plenty of talk about raising kids. Mack especially wanted to try. He never specifically said it but Elena always thought he wanted a do-over, another chance to be a father. His time with Hope in the Framework, although traumatizing, seemed to renew this fire in him. 

But they were warned. To this day, Elena never forgot Daisy Johnson's words to them. 

_"If you and Mack have a kid, you will be placing your legacy onto them, whether they like it or not. They'll never live a normal life. Even if you manage to clear your names, you know it's inevitable that they'll eventually have to deal with something worse. Could be HYDRA. Could be the return of the Darkhold. Could be the Confederacy. You know I'll support you both no matter what but you may have to consider that it might be best to forget about having a child"._

The words stung but Elena reluctantly agreed. So...they decided to adopt. They could still raise a kid but in case their old life caught up to them, there was a chance that they could cut ties with Silver. Not to hurt the child but to protect them, to make sure they had a clean getaway from the life of a SHIELD agent. 

 _SHIELD. Jesus, she doesn't even know._ Five years that they took care of Silver. And in those five years, Silver always asked about what Mack and Elena did before they took her in. The answer was always the same. Mack was a mechanic, Elena was a police officer. No, correction,  _Henry_ was a mechanic and  _Natalia_ was a police officer. Mr. and Mrs. Henry and Natalia Mason. Those were the identities that the Cleaner gave them. 

Elena didn't think it was going to work at the time. But here she is, ten years later, living a normal life as a suburban mom. No one has gone after them ever since the Cleaner wiped their identities away, as if they never existed.  _Living the dream, even though this was definitely not my dream._

Silver approached the SUV and Elena moved to open the doors. Silver climbed into the shotgun seat, put her seatbelt on, and immediately went back to her phone. She only let out a soft "hi mom" before turning her attention to her tweets and text messages. Typical "Gen Z" stuff was how the other neighborhood parents described it as. Elena didn't want to admit it but this did make her feel old. 

Elena started the car and began driving out, back to their home. As she did, she asked, "So...how was school?"

Silver only shrugged. "It was cool. Alice Plummer asked me to homecoming and I said yes."

 _Oh, the redhead with the freckles. They do look cute together._ "I see. So...when are you finally going to ask her on a date?"

Silver snickered at that and Elena laughed as well. Elena could've sworn that she saw her daughter blush. "Maybe when I'm in college...and when Thor comes down from the heavens to bless me with Asgardian courage". 

"'Asgardian courage', that's called 'mead' and it's delicious...but you're not 21 yet so don't even think about it. Also, who knows, maybe he will come down to help you. He does exist, after all." Silver chuckled at that.

As Elena approached a red stoplight, she turned on the radio to make sure the car didn't go quiet. The station she was on was in between songs and, much to her discomfort, it was an interview concerning Inhumans. The radio DJ and whoever the hell the guest was were in the middle of an argument. One side wanted Inhumans to have equal rights with normal people while the other side could only describe them through buzzwords, such as 'dangerous' and 'illegal'. Elena immediately changed the station, hoping she didn't give away how she was feeling to Silver. Luckily, from her peripheral vision, Elena could see that Silver was stuck on Twitter, barely even noticing the change in stations. 

 _Damn politics. Damn it all to hell. Can't even be myself anymore without getting arrested._ 2022 was when it started getting bad. Elena remembered that year for all the wrong reasons. The riots in the streets, the politicians gaining power on anti-Inhuman platforms, the controversial movement to fund research that would kill the Inhuman gene. Not only did she have to hide that she was Elena Rodriguez, the SHIELD agent, she also had to hide that she was an Inhuman. She was living a complete lie. But it was either hide, run, or die. Like most other Inhumans, she chose to hide. What other choice did she have?  

 _But not Daisy. She could never live like this._ Elena tried to focus back on the road. Going down terrible memory lane was one thing but she was approaching dangerous territory. Daisy...it had been years since she last saw her.  _What is she doing nowadays? Does she still hate all of us for what happened in Angola? Oh god...Angola. Why did we let that happen?_  Suddenly, all Elena could hear was the sounds of gunfire. The memory was beginning again, the one memory she tried to avoid relieving. But here it was, coming in full force.

There was the familiar sounds of people screaming. Someone to her left was shouting, "Lower your weapons!" over and over and before she had a chance to react, she heard the ground begin to quake. Suddenly, a man could be heard shouting for help and before he could get a response... _BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!_ Elena winced as the sounds of machine guns began ringing in her ear. Something warm hit her hands and when she looked, she almost screamed when she saw how much blood was on her. It wasn't even her blood, that was what threw her off. More extremely loud gunshots rang out and one was close enough to nearly rupture her ear drum. As the guns ran out of ammo, she saw Daisy approach, looking the angriest that Elena's ever seen her. She held one hand up, ready to destroy whatever it was in front of her. She was talking...no, _shouting_...but because her ears were still ringing from gunfire, Elena couldn't tell what Daisy was saying.  _What are you saying? Daisy, I can't hear you! Daisy, please, I can't help you because I can't hear-_

"Mom, stop!" 

Elena hit the brakes just as a dog ran across the street. The car behind her honked angrily and, after regaining her composure, resumed driving. Not surprisingly, the car behind them sped up and overtook Elena, honking again as they drove away.   

Elena turned to Silver, who was just looking at her with a confused expression. "What?" Elena asked as she brushed aside the dark memory, "You just gonna stare at me like that?"

"Mom, you okay? You spaced out there."

"I'm fine, I just didn't get enough sleep last night."

"Well...get some sleep when we get home, okay? You almost hit that cute dog." 

"I'll be fine...I just need some coffee and I'll be good to go."

At that, Silver shrugged and went back to her phone. Elena sighed.  _I can't go back there. Not again. I'm not a SHIELD agent anymore. Please...just move on. I know we failed Daisy Johnson...but that's the past. Just let it go. Let it go. Let. It. Go._

* * *

MAY

Location: Serenity, a small town in the Canadian wilderness. The Barker Family Bookstore, the local indie bookshop. 

Time: Afternoon

 

"Will that be all for you, Miss Liao?" 

Melinda May looked up, having distracted herself in the latest volume of "Deke Shaw's Travel Guide".  _How that boy got himself published, I may never know._ She placed the book back in the shelf and walked to the counter, where Mrs. Lilian Barker was finishing up her order. 

No, she was finishing "Rosalind Liao's" order. Melinda May died in a shootout with Europol forces while trying to flee from SHIELD, or whatever the hell this new version of SHIELD was calling itself. This wasn't her SHIELD, her SHIELD died a long time ago.  _It died with Phil._

"Yes, that'll be all," May said, forcing a fake smile, "Sorry, got distracted with a good book."

"Oh, I understand. That Deke Shaw fellow, oh boy, he's become quite a hit with the youth! Just the other day, little Louisa Tanner came into the shop, saying she wanted to travel the world just like her big brother Deke. I told the girl that she had never met Deke before but then she went on this tangent about how Deke was the closest thing she had to a brother!" 

"Wow, that's...somehow both sweet and sad."

"Tell me about it." Mrs. Barker ran up May's order and May said her goodbyes as she exited the shop. She only bought one book today; "The Frank Castle Trial: Hero or Villain", a nonfiction, true crime biography that she thought would make for an interesting read. She needed something to do to keep herself busy. While living alone in a lakeside cabin in the woods made for a nice escape from her previous life, it does get pretty boring. May had already exhausted several ideas to keep herself busy; chopping wood, fishing, hunting, yoga, tai chi, and even archery just for the heck of it. But she ran through those ideas within the first few months of living in Serenity. Now, she was resorting to reading to pass the time. But at the rate she was going with these distractions, she was somewhat worried that she would go through the bookshop's entire catalog by the end of the year. 

May made her way back to her truck, threw her stuff in the backseat, and began driving to the cabin. As she drove through the small town, she couldn't help but think that this current phase of her life was strange, even for her. Even though she had been living in this town for two years by this point, it still felt like she just moved in. She was so used to city life and constantly moving from place to place that staying in such a quiet town like this made her feel uncomfortable. Ironically, it was the lack of danger that kept her on edge. But on the other hand, maybe leaving SHIELD was a good thing. Normal life shouldn't feel tense. May didn't want to admit it but there were times where she felt that the chaotic SHIELD lifestyle was her version of "normal".  _Yeah...losing people you love, constantly worrying about when you might die, fighting aliens, robots, and demons...yeah, totally normal. Get a grip, May, what you were doing...that wasn't normal._

"It was normal...normal to us."

 _Oh no, he's back._ May looked in the rear view mirror and saw him again. It's been ten years and yet, it didn't look like he aged a bit. Still smiling at her, looking at her as if she was the only person in the room. Looking as if he never made the deal with the Ghost Rider or if Loki never stabbed him through the chest.  _He's not real...I was by his side when he died. I buried him in Tahiti. He's not real._

"I'm real enough for you," he said, smirking as he did, "I'm still buried in Tahiti...as far as you know. But you can never really bury the past."

"The real Coulson would know that I'm feeling uncomfortable with these hallucinations and would've left me alone by now," May said, knowing full well she was talking to no one.

"Oh...maybe it's a good thing that I'm not the real Coulson then."

"What do you want?"  

"You miss that life, don't you? The SHIELD life. You miss Daisy, Fitz, Simmons, Mack, Yo-Yo, Deke, Robbie...they were your family."

"They were our family."  

"Yeah, they were. I was the dad, you were the mom-"

"-yeah, but I wore the pants in the relationship."

Coulson smiled,  _that damn smile._ "Yes you did, May," he said, "They're lost. All of them. You know what you need to do."

"I'm not going back to SHIELD. That's not even our SHIELD anymore. I don't know anyone who works for this new SHIELD and as far as I know, they want nothing to do with me. And honestly, the feeling is mutual."

"All the more reason to go back. We were stronger together-"

"-yeah, and that's not possible. Even if I got everyone back together, it wouldn't be the same because...no, I'm not doing this." May held a few tears back as she pushed the rear view mirror, making it face away from her. "I'm talking to nothing."  

It took a few minutes but after driving through a dirt road, she arrived at the cabin. She parked, grabbed her stuff, and stepped outside. As she walked up the pathway leading into the cabin, she noticed that the main door was unlocked.  _Crap...robbers? Here?_ Not wanting to take any chances, she placed the books down and grabbed the double-barreled shotgun she kept in the backseat. Normally, she would've handled this with her fists but it has been years since she was in a fight. She didn't want to risk getting killed due to rust. After making sure the shotgun was loaded, she slowly entered the house, gun up as she walked in. 

At first glance, the cabin seemed untouched. Even some items that she considered valuable, such as a pocket-watch she bought a few years ago, was still on the counter exactly where she left it. Something didn't feel right. 

May moved into the kitchen. She nearly fired a shot until she saw who it was. Sitting at the table was a familiar short-haired girl. She had her arms crossed and a visible handgun by her hip. The girl smirked as May lowered the shotgun.

"Well, well, nice to see you again May, after all these years. Or should I call you 'Rosalind'?"

 _And after all this time, she's still a little shit._ "What are you doing here, Carmilla?" 

Instead of answering her question, Carmilla Black stood up from the seat and went over to one of the cabinets. She pulled out a Cadbury Creme Egg and began eating it, which made May groan. 

"I was saving that," May said, annoyed.

"Sorry, I saw it when I came in here. You remember that I love these things, right?"

"Carmilla Black...it's been years since I last saw you. In fact, I forgot you existed because I was busy with a whole lot of other stuff in my life. But trust me when I say, I can still remember all your little quirks, hobbies, and habits. It was part of the job." 

"Wow...you really are as good as how Robert Gonzales described you."

"What are you doing here? In case you didn't find this out on your own, I'm retired, I don't have anything for you." 

Carmilla Black finished her snack before moving over to May. She then went into her pocket and pulled out a USB. May, despite not wanting anything to do with Carmilla, took the USB. 

"What is this," May said, still annoyed.

"Just some stuff I wanted you to look at," Carmilla said, "I know it's been a while but...I could really use a second pair of eyes. That's the thing about working alone...it's impossible. But I'm running out of friends. And Derek Khanata isn't available at the moment."

"Your handler?" 

"Went missing while he was in Asia." 

 _Huh...just like Deke. Has to be a coincidence._ "Sorry to hear that, Carmilla."

"Yeah...bad things tend to happen when people work with me. It's why I have to keep moving. Anyways, I have a lot of heat right now so give me a few months. I'll check back with you once it's safe to move again."

"Hang on, I didn't agree to help you!"

"Well, you haven't refused yet."

"That doesn't mean-argh, whatever. Look, just tell me, who did you piss off this time? Is it SHIELD? Pretty sure SHIELD is still after you for what you did in 2014."

"That was a long time ago. Do you think they're more angry at me for shooting Mack or stealing some confidential material? Which, by the way, was made public by the Black Widow so I technically did nothing wrong."

"You think that excuse is going to work on SHIELD?"

"No. Anyways, for the record, it's not SHIELD that I pissed off this time. I mean, they still want me dead, that part didn't change. But that USB you're holding, I stole it from the other SHIELD. The unofficial one. Your girl, Daisy Johnson, and her Secret Warriors." 

May almost destroyed the USB as soon as Carmilla mentioned Daisy.  _No...this thing is cursed. It's only going to force me back into the game._ May handed the USB back to Carmilla, shaking her head as she did.

"No, I'm not taking this," May said, "Daisy will eventually learn that I have this and-"

"-what? You're scared of your student? Come on, Melinda, you've helped me before. All I'm asking is that you look through the files-"

"-Carmilla, you know I feel sorry about what happened to you. You know that I want to help you get those who were responsible for screwing your life over. But I have my own limits. I promised that I would help you out from time to time...but for this one, you need to find someone else."

"There is no one else-"

"-Carmilla, I'm sorry, but I can't. Please, just go." 

"I nearly got my head blown off just to get this information, the least you could do is look through them-"

"-this isn't my problem! Now get out!"

Silence. For a second, May thought that Carmilla would go for her pistol just out of sheer rage. But after a few moments of tense silence, Carmilla stormed out of the kitchen and headed to the front door. As she walked out, Carmilla turned to May one last time. In the angriest that May has ever heard her, Carmilla said, "The May that I was told about stood up to HYDRA, alien invaders, and even the Devil. They called her the Cavalry because of how badass she was. But here you are...and what are you? You're a scared, pathetic recluse who hides out in the woods. And why...because your boyfriend died years ago?"

"It's more complicated than that. I didn't just lose Coulson...I lost every single person on my team."

"Yeah, well, I lost everyone back in 2014. Every single person who I was friends with turned on me. Yet here I am, still fighting. I just robbed the Secret Warriors the other day. What did you do? Go fishing? You take care now... _Cavalry_."

Carmilla walked out the cabin, slamming the doors behind her as she did. The words stung but May was adamant on where she stood.  _I don't have it in me anymore. The Cavalry is dead. I need to move on. Carmilla...I'm sorry, but she needs to find someone else._

"You could be that someone else and you know it."

May closed her eyes as Coulson's voice rang in her ears again. "I do know it...doesn't mean that it should be me." 

May put the shotgun away and left to go to the bathroom. If she had only stayed to look longer, she may have noticed that Carmilla dropped the USB on the floor as she stormed out...

* * *

FITZ

Location: Conference room, the Hub 

Time: Two hours after Fitz was awakened 

 

There was so much to cover that Fitz had to ask Enoch to slow down from time to time, just to let him take in the information. Everything that happened during the fight with Graviton was laid out in front of him. The marriage to Jemma. The Doctor's resurgence. Ruby Hale and her death at the hands of Elena Rodriguez. Phil Coulson sacrificing himself to stop Graviton. Daisy Johnson shooting Talbot into space. And then there was his death. Fitz could barely look as Enoch showed him pictures that were taken at the scene. He just looked so...helpless. Looking at the rubble going through his doppelganger's chest felt like it was happening to someone else who just so happened to have his face. Yet somehow, he could feel it on his own body. 

_This has got to be some sort of nightmare. It all just feels so...surreal. None of this feels real._

As Fitz placed his head in his hands, Enoch moved around the room, finishing up the overview. "The battle with Graviton was, unofficially, the last time SHIELD was united," Enoch said, "They were supposed to take off into space to find us. But seeing as how we're ten years after Graviton's defeat, obviously things didn't go the way they wanted it to. Afterwards, members started leaving SHIELD."

 _Ten years. Ten goddamn years._ The thought alone was making Fitz ill. He didn't belong here. He missed so much that he felt like he was living in a whole new world. It only brought back bad memories of the Framework, except this time, he was the outsider looking in on everyone else's lives. However, he knew he needed answers. There was time to despair but that had to wait. 

"So what happened?" Fitz asked, "Why didn't they find us?"

Enoch threw his hands up. Fitz groaned.  _Of course, that'd be too easy. Nothing is easy with SHIELD._

"I'm sorry, Fitz," Enoch said, "Apparently, that bit of history was...redacted. Believe me, I've tried to find out what happened but found nothing. All that I know is that at some point in 2018, your friends had to abandon their mission to tend to an Earth-related incident. I've researched large-scale disasters that happened in 2018 and found...several. But I couldn't link SHIELD to anything concrete. Whatever the incident was, it led to SHIELD disbanding."

"And you don't know where everyone is?"

"Not necessarily. I showed you what I know. Deke Shaw, your grandson-"

"-don't, just...I've never met this man before so please, don't call him my grandson."

"...anyways, Deke Shaw, one of SHIELD's allies, went missing while touring Asia. Alphonso Mackenzie and Elena Rodriguez went off the grid. They may have gone into hiding. Melinda May was apparently killed by Europol a few years ago. I say 'apparently' because SHIELD doesn't seem to believe she's dead. They think she also went off the grid, just like Mack and Elena. Daisy Johnson is a ghost. She pops up once in a while before disappearing without a trace. We can discuss where she's been at another time. As for Jemma-"

Fitz sat up in his seat. He cringed at his response but he needed to know what happened to his "wife".  _Damn, at least we finally got married. But she got married to the other me. It doesn't even feel like I married her._

"-Jemma was the only one who managed to clear her name. I don't know how she did it but she was cleared of all charges regarding the assassination attempt on Glenn Talbot's life."

 _Well, at least one of us is living a good life._ "...where is she? Where's my wife?" 

"She's working at our London headquarters," a voice said behind Fitz. Immediately, Leo stood up. Standing before him was a well-dressed man around his age. He had curly brown hair and a five o'clock shadow. Judging by his accent, Fitz assumed he was Irish, or at least of Irish ancestry. The man extended a hand and, not wanting to create a scene, Fitz shook it. The man's grip was firm, almost crushing. 

"I heard you were awake, sorry I wasn't there to greet you," the man said, "But you know what it's like, SHIELD's gotta deal with all sorts of bullshit around the world."

"Who are you?" Fitz asked.

"Oh, sorry, where are my manners? I'm Andrew Forson. I'm the Director of SHIELD. I'm also the one who woke you up from cryosleep. Or, more specifically, the one who gave the order to wake you from cryosleep." Andrew walked around the conference table and sat down right by Fitz. Fitz sat back in his seat, still cautious of the man. Enoch, sensing the tension, sat in a seat far from them. 

Forson sat back in his seat, making himself comfortable. He then said, "Look...I'm not gonna sugarcoat just how awkward our situation is. You don't know me. Since you've been asleep for ten years, you probably thought that Phil Coulson, god rest his soul, was still Director of SHIELD."

"Actually, I thought he was at least alive," Fitz said, grimly. 

"I know. It's a shame what happened to him, he was a good man. My uncle, Bertrand, served with him during the 1990s. They were among the SHIELD agents who fought alongside Captain Marvel. Uncle Bertrand didn't know him that well but he knew him well enough to say that Coulson was one of SHIELD's greatest agents." 

Fitz nodded his head. Deep down, he wanted to cry but he had to stay focused. He had questions and this was his chance to get answers.

"So, anyways, I'm here for a little bit," Forson said, "I wanted you to at least see me so you know who is running SHIELD nowadays. Now, I know you have dozens of questions, but my time is short. So, I'll answer a few for now and once you get settled in and I finish dealing with my business, we'll pick this conversation up again. Now, what do you want to know?"

There were, indeed, dozens of questions that Fitz had in mind. As soon as he said the first one that came to mind, he regretted it almost immediately. 

"How were you able to pardon Jemma?"

Forson smirked. "Interesting...thought you'd ask something more about yourself or what's happening with SHIELD. You and Simmons really are the Romeo and Juliet of our organization. Well, since you asked, and I might answer two questions with this response...SHIELD was granted a lot of power by the governments all around the world. See, back around 2014 to 2018, the world decided it did not want SHIELD around due to HYDRA-"

"-but Jeffrey Mace-"

"-yes, the world did bring SHIELD back for a few months but let's be honest, that version of SHIELD ended up being rejected by the world due to what happened to Glenn Talbot. I never believed Daisy Johnson did it but when it's our word versus the world's, we lose every time. Of course, the world grew to hate Talbot as well due to his turn as Graviton but even then, that didn't save SHIELD's reputation."

"So...what gives then? Why'd people want us back?" 

"Well, you were asleep for all of this. The anti-Inhuman riots occurred. Lots of political stuff that you can look up on your own time. Let's just say...things got pretty bad around 2022 and 2023. The world decided it needed an organization like SHIELD to deal with all this chaos. So, I come in and resurrect the organization...but not quite. The public is still wary of the SHIELD name so we're currently floating around some other titles that we could use. My money is on 'HAMMER'. Even then, we're doing everything we can to earn back the public's trust. But that's a whole other discussion, not remotely what you asked for. No, you asked for Jemma. The answer is simple. We can't prove that your friends are innocent but we can force the hands of the world leaders that rely on us. We needed someone to lead our science division and Jemma has two PhDs. So...we told the world to stop chasing her."

"That simple, huh?"

"Hey, the governments around the world gave us power. It'd be a waste not to use it. Alright, you have a few more questions, ask away." 

 _Okay...only ask the most important questions right now. I want to ask about the others...but that might not be what I need to know right now. Just think about what I need to know._ "Okay...why'd you wake me up?" 

Forson nodded his head. He didn't look surprised but he did look as if he wasn't a fan of this question. Forson scratched his chin as he sat even further back in his seat. "This was the question I was expecting you to ask. Loose ends. Your friends were supposed to do this ten years ago and they failed. If you're thinking that you were intentionally left to float in space, you're wrong. It was simply a combination of bad luck, bad planning, the world being set on fire with all this Inhumans crap, and SHIELD not existing until just a few years ago." 

For some reason, Fitz didn't believe it.  _Ten years. Come on, there has to be more to this. The world couldn't have been that busy that SHIELD would let him sit in space for a decade...right?_ Fitz thought that but he began to doubt himself. He didn't know this world.  _But then again...Jemma would've pushed hard to find me. Mack too. So what gives? Did they just give up? No...it can't be._

"I will say," Forson continued, "That if there was indeed a conspiracy to leave you in space...and I'm not saying this is true by any means...it may have been Daisy Johnson's doing."

 _Daisy? What the hell...oh. Did she force the team to leave me in space because of what the other version of me did as the Doctor? No, that's cruel. She wouldn't do that._ "Why would it be her fault?"

"This is common knowledge now but there was a falling out among your friends and Daisy Johnson played a huge part in the break-up. There were...events that happened in 2022 and 2023 that, in layman's terms, caused her to snap. Jemma may have a better answer to this. From what I know, she didn't take the news of the anti-Inhuman movements well. Near the end of her time with SHIELD, she apparently became a nightmare to work with. And, if I connect the dots, your self from the original timeline did surgery on her without her consent. So...nightmare team member, plus rescue mission where the target is a teammate she hates and...well-"

"-are you saying Daisy forced the team to leave me in space?"

Forson shrugged. "If I had to pick a member, it'd be her. No offense to Daisy."

 _BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP._ Andrew Forson went into his pocket and pulled out a phone. Taking the call, he looked at Fitz and said, "Sorry lad, I gotta take this. Nice to finally chat with you and everything. Now, focus on getting settled in. And while you do that, I'll contact the London headquarters and get Jemma here." 

"Thanks for that."

"Oh, and if you want, there's a bar in the first floor. You want me to get you some wine? Whiskey? You're Scottish, you'd be down for some Scotch, right?"

"I'm good, thanks."

"Suit yourself. Just remember, if you need anything, let me know. Think of yourself as our...'guest'." 

Forson nodded to Fitz and Enoch, then exited the room. As soon as he did, Enoch stood up and rejoined Fitz. 

"What do you think of him?" Enoch asked. 

Fitz looked at Enoch, unsure what to say. A different version of SHIELD was back in power, Jemma was free, the conspiracy with Daisy...it was all too much to take in at once. 

"He seems...trustworthy?" Enoch said, unsure of himself, "At the very least, he doesn't give off any red flags for suspicious behavior."

"Yeah, well, I thought the same way about Grant Ward and Holden Radcliffe. It's always the ones you don't suspect who will stab you in the back." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're wondering where Daisy, Jemma, and Deke's chapters are...don't worry, they're coming. I wanted to prolong their POV chapters since I've got a lot of story to tell with them. I want this story to be a nice, slow burn into absolute madness. You know, just like the actual show.
> 
> Also, sorry if this chapter is a bit much on the backstory. Since we're at the start of the "season", these early chapters will be heavy on the exposition. 
> 
> P.S.: From time to time, I'll sprinkle in some MCU easter eggs. Keep an eye out for them!


	4. CAST LIST (bonus chapter)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is just a bonus chapter, to keep track of all the characters present in this season. I'll update this chapter every time I upload a new one.

MAIN CAST

1) Daisy Johnson / Quake: An Inhuman and the former leader of the Secret Warriors. After the ten-year time skip, she is now the leader of a rogue version of S.H.I.E.L.D., known as the "Secret Warriors". 

2) Leopold "Leo" Fitz / The Doctor: S.H.I.E.L.D. engineer, recently awakened from hibernation. 

3) Jemma Simmons: S.H.I.E.L.D. biochemist. After the ten-year time skip, she is now the only member of the original S.H.I.E.L.D. to clear her name of the assassination attempt on Glenn Talbot. She is also the only member to be confirmed working with the new S.H.I.E.L.D. (H.A.M.M.E.R.). 

4) Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.. After the ten-year time skip, he has adopted a new civilian identity and is living a normal life with Yo-Yo and their adopted daughter, Silver. 

5) Melinda May / The Cavalry: Retired agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.. After the ten-year time skip, she has now faked her death and is living a quiet life as a recluse in Canada.

6) Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez / Slingshot: Inhuman and former member of the Secret Warriors. After the ten-year time skip, she has adopted a new civilian identity and is living a normal life with Mack and their adopted daughter, Silver.

7) Deke Shaw: Fitz and Simmons' grandson from the now-deleted Graviton-destroyed future. Went missing while traveling around the world. 

* * *

 

RECURRING / GUEST CAST

1) Carmilla Black / Scorpion: A former agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. who went rogue during the HYDRA uprising. [(based on comic character, don't read unless you want potential spoilers!)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorpion_\(Carmilla_Black\))

2) Enoch: Chronicom anthropologist who aided Fitz in his trip to the far future. Currently alive, despite his original timeline version dying in the previous season. 

3) Silver Myers: Mack and Elena's adopted daughter.

4) Lilian Barker: The owner of the Barker Family Bookstore. 

5) Phil Coulson: The previous Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and May's former lover. He is currently deceased, although it's revealed that May still hallucinates him.  

6) Andrew Forson: The current Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. (H.A.M.M.E.R.). His version of S.H.I.E.L.D. emerged as a result of the anti-Inhuman movements that rose during the early 2020s.  [(based on comic character, don't read unless you want potential spoilers!)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Forson)


End file.
